Dumped hat, shirt clue at student’s Bundoora murder scene
Detectives from Victoria Police’s homicide squad are going through CCTV and other evidence to identify Aiia Maasarwe’s killer, with a black “1986” cap and grey and black Cotton On T-shirt keys to their probe.
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Detectives from Victoria Police’s homicide squad have vowed to catch the cold-blooded Bundoora murderer.
A team of investigators went through CCTV and other evidence and working to identify the killer overnight.
Key to their probe is a black “1986” cap and a grey and black Cotton On T-shirt. The items were found within 100m of where the body of Aiia Maasarwe was discovered early Wednesday morning.
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Police were on Thursday testing the items for forensic evidence in the hope it would lead them to the murder suspect.
If positive results are returned, police should be able to identify a suspect quickly.
Detective Inspector Andrew Stamper, acting head of the homicide squad, said police were keeping an open mind on whether the murderer was on the tram with Ms Maasarwe or pounced when she got off.
They are working around the theory she was attacked about 50m from the tram stop as she walked into Main Drive from Plenty Rd.
Insp Stamper said the clothing was found in grassland across the road from where the 21-year-old’s body was found. CCTV footage was released on Thursday, showing Ms Maasarwe leaving The Comic’s Lounge in North Melbourne on Tuesday night.
A friend gave her a lift to Bourke St, where she caught the 86 tram about 10.50pm. Police believe she got off in Bundoora about 12.10am.
In a heartbreaking twist, Ms Maasarwe was on the phone to her sister at the moment her attacker struck.
Ms Maasarwe’s uncle Rame told the Herald Sun of his niece’s awful final phone call.
“She was talking to her sister and seemed OK, but then her phone fell, and then she (her sister) heard different voices,” he said.
“We thought Australia was safe.”
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Police are refusing to go into specific details about how Ms Maasarwe died.
“All I will say is this was an absolutely horrific and horrendous attack inflicted on a completely innocent young woman who was a visitor to our city,” Insp Stamper said.
Ms Maasarwe was carrying a bag and some items had been taken. They were located by police in a park across the road.
Detectives are looking into the movements of known sex offenders as they work to single out a suspect.
“We are looking at everyone … known sex offenders, they are an active line of inquiry,” Insp Stamper said.
“We are methodically working through all the evidence at the moment.”
Insp Stamper said there was nothing in the victim’s background to indicate she was attacked by someone she knew.
“Our presumption at this stage is this was a random attack and opportunistic,” he said.
Insp Stamper said he believed information from the public would be the key to finding the killer.
“Anyone who saw Aiia in the area between North Melbourne … we know she was driven by friends into Bourke St and dropped off at the tram stop in Bourke St where she got the 86 tram at about 10.50pm on Tuesday.
“She boarded the 86 tram bound for Bundoora. We would appeal for anyone who may have seen her in Bourke St, or the 86 tram.
“We are still of the belief she got off the tram at the intersection of Plenty Rd and Main Drive in Bundoora, which is a short distance from where the attack took place.”
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Aiia Maasarwe had been in Victoria for only a few months but had already fallen in love with the state.
The 21-year-old Israeli had been studying at Shanghai University, but was enrolled at La Trobe University on an exchange program.
When the “bubbly and bright” young woman wasn’t studying, she was exploring.
Social media posts included a video of herself skydiving along the Great Ocean Road, a photo of her taking in the breathtaking scenery of the Grampians, and a video of the Shrine of Remembrance.
Just days ago, she posted a video of a kangaroo bouncing down a street.
Her devastated family was on Thursday struggling to come to terms with her horrific end, as tearful friends comforted each other at the site in Bundoora where her body was found on Wednesday.
Rame Maasarwe spoke of a niece with a spirit of adventure who loved nothing more than to travel and see the world.
“She was always smiling, always able to have fun with anyone she met,” a heartbroken Mr Maasarwe said.
“She loved adventure; she even went skydiving recently.
“Aiia was really dedicated to her studies and was always top of her class.”
Ms Maasarwe lived and studied in China with one of her sisters before moving to Australia. Distraught friends said she had always dreamed of moving Down Under.
From the central Israeli city of Baqa al-Gharbiyye, halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa, Ms Maasarwe was a “dreamer” and a person who loved to laugh and learn, friends said.
Rula Wadie Mawassi said she had been “so happy” to be living in Melbourne.
“That is what she dreamed of,” she said.
“She was laughing all the time … even when we finished the exam, even when we were so stressed because of the exams period.
“She was a dreamer.”
Ms Maasarwe graduated from Al-Qasemi Academic College of Education in Israel in 2017.
The languages student was “intelligent” and passionate about learning, her friend said.
“She liked to talk in other languages,” Ms Mawassi said.
“All the school staff loved her, because she was so smart and intelligent.
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“She was volunteering in our school with a group of adults to learn a new language, Chinese,” she said.
As police on Thursday searched bushland opposite the place where Ms Maasarwe’s body was found, a large group of young people gathered to console each other.
A shrine of flowers and handwritten tributes on the corner of Main Dve and Plenty Rd grew steadily.
One handwritten card read: “RIP my dear. I will miss you so much and your positive energy. I love you always.”
Another said: “You are in a better place now. Just rest and be at peace now.”
A Facebook group, “Fill the 86 tram with flowers for Aiia Maasarwe”, encouraged Melburnians to carry red roses — her family said they were her favourite — on the tram this evening, after a vigil at State Parliament.
Back in Israel, Ms Maasarwe’s family have begun planning her funeral.
A stream of Baqa al-Gharbiyye residents visited the family home on Thursday to offer their condolences.
Ms Maasarwe’s mother remained in Israel to co-ordinate funeral preparations while her father made the heartbreaking flight to Melbourne to formally identify his daughter’s body and accompany her casket home.
Grief-stricken members of the extended family living across the globe were also organising flights back to Israel for the funeral.
Her uncle, Rame Maasarwe, preparing to board a plane in Miami, said the ceremony would see family come together and remember the “bright girl who loved adventure”.
LOCALS STUNNED BY SHOCKING FIND
Crews on Wednesday night scoured scrubland and walked through the park hunting for evidence while people were enjoying their dinner and children were playing.
A family living over the road from where the body was discovered said it was a scary and “strange” situation, knowing it happened in such a built-up area.
Dr Rajesh George and his wife Subha George said they and their two children were up late watching tennis on Tuesday night but did not hear anything out of the ordinary.
Dr George said there were often a lot of cars driving past and Main Drive was well lit up by the shopping centre and service station.
“That’s the strange thing, you would see so much traffic and so many people around here. Even at night, it’s always busy.
“It’s scary that it could happen right here.”
Mrs George said they had never had any issues in the 18 months they had lived in Bundoora and said apart from the odd hoon driver the area was very quiet.
“It’s very safe, a lot of students, young families, never have we had any problem,” she said.
The crime scene is directly next to Paisley Park early learning centre. Staff leaving the centre on Wednesday night said they were unable to comment.
Police are expected to step up patrols in the area.
Locals were stunned, with business owner Ardit Myrteza saying he was shocked when his business partner told him of the death.
“It’s awful. It’s very tragic,” Mr Myrteza said.
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